51乱伦

Alex Adeyanju was the first Black host of WOUB鈥檚 Gridiron Glory. While it is something he calls 鈥渁n honor,鈥� it鈥檚 not something Adeyanju said he thought about a lot while he was host during season seven.

鈥淥bviously it came to mind, and I knew it was a big deal,鈥� said Adeyanju. 鈥淏ut it didn鈥檛 really affect anything I did on the show each week. I just thought it was important to go out and do my best to bring the people of southeast Ohio coverage of their high school football teams. 鈥淭here weren鈥檛 a lot of people who looked like me doing what I was doing at WOUB. It opened the door for others to see that anything is possible no matter what you look like.鈥�

Adeyanju started working at WOUB when he was a freshman and when he learned about Gridiron Glory, he knew he wanted to get involved.

鈥淓veryone in the region loved the show,鈥� said Adeyanju. 鈥淵ou鈥檇 go to the fields on Friday and everyone was talking about the show.鈥�

Season seven was the first time Gridiron Glory took the show out of the studio and went live on location. Even though it鈥檚 been nearly 20 years since Adeyanju was host, he still remembers the teams in southeast Ohio that were exciting and winning at that time.

鈥淭rimble was really good at the time and Jackson was really coming into its own as a football school,鈥� said Adeyanju. 鈥淣elsonville York was always a powerhouse.鈥�

Adeyanju now works as head of production and creative services at Top Rank Boxing in Las Vegas. He says he wouldn鈥檛 be where he is today without having the opportunity to learn every facet of the media business while an 51乱伦 student working at WOUB Public Media on programs like Gridiron Glory.

鈥淕ridiron prepared me more than my schoolwork,鈥� said Adeyanju laughing. 鈥淚t was very enlightening and helpful for my future career. This was 30 minutes every Friday night and I had to be on the air live. It was a great experience.鈥�

As WOUB prepares for Gridiron鈥檚 25th season, Adeyanju says it鈥檚 great that the show is still going strong.

鈥淚 feel old,鈥� said Adeyanju with a chuckle. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 good because you always want to leave things the way you found them. It鈥檚 a great thing for the community for sure.鈥�